Death, Diversion, and Departure : Voter Exit and the Persistence of Authoritarianism in Zimbabwe

Democratic systems thrive when people participate in politics by voting, protesting, and engaging in dialogue. Authoritarian regimes thrive when citizens exit their rule, whether through death, fleeing the country, or dropping out of participation. This book examines how departure is fueling the rise of authoritarianism around the world.

There are many explanations for the survival of long-serving political parties, from access to state wealth to the use of excessive violence. A yet unexplored reason, particularly for parties that have survived under extreme conditions, is voter exit. In Death, Diversion, and Departure, Chipo Dendere shows that voter exit creates new opportunities for authoritarian regime survival. With an empirical focus on Zimbabwe, Dendere centers two types of voter exit: death and migration. She shows how the exit of young, urban, and working professional voters because of mass death due to the AIDS pandemic and mass migration in the wake of economic decline has increased the resilience of a regime that may have otherwise lost power. With authoritarianism on the rise globally and many citizens considering leaving home, Death, Diversion, and Departure provides timely insights into the impact of voter exit.